Re-imagined The BI Experience for Mobile
Roambi was comprised of a series of “Views”, which were pre-designed, interactive applications that guided users through their data step by step, rather than flooding their screen with numbers. Initially a solution for the iPhone’s small screen, users loved them so much that they preferred them regardless of what device they were on, driving adoption on iPads and eventually desktops.

Offline Performance
Enabled zero-latency access by downloading datasets directly to devices, making Roambi usable even on early EDGE networks and in offline scenarios. This always-available data access removed one of the biggest obstacles to mobile work, creating a seamless experience in a way web-based competitors couldn’t match.

Enterprise Trust
Delivered patented security controls like remote wipe, expiring data, and SSO before mobile device management was mainstream. These features reassured CIOs and compliance teams, shortening security reviews and accelerating sales cycles across the Fortune 500.

Patented Innovation
Built the first on-device columnar calculation engine, enabling ad-hoc analytics on datasets up to 50GB, and secured five additional patents for mobile-first UX concepts. This advanced Roambi beyond a companion app, positioning it as a standalone analytics platform capable of handling enterprise-scale use cases.

Strategic Positioning
Integrated seamlessly with SAP, Oracle, and IBM BI systems, initially positioning Roambi as an add-on that extended their value rather than replacing them. This strategy accelerated sales cycles and turned would-be competitors into partners, giving Roambi distribution and credibility far beyond what a startup could have achieved alone.

Results

The Roambi App was a collection of 10 different applications (views) that were designed to facilitate different types of analytic concepts like KPI monitoring, comparison, drill down, trend analysis, and dashboards.

My Role

Co-Founder/Head of Product & Design

• Conceptualized and designed the initial version of the product.

• Scaled/led product strategy, product management, UX design, user research, and product marketing teams until I was promoted to CEO by the BOD in 2014.

• Hold 5 patents on novel mobile UX concepts, including visualization paradigms for small screens, and the first on-device columnar calculation engine to power instantaneous response times.

• Regularly interfaced with customer C-suite executives to refine roadmap, share the product vision, and close $1M+ deals.

• Handled PR, media appearances, public speaking events, and conference presentations.

• Member of the BOD, led fund-raising efforts along with Co-founding CEO

The Setup

When the iPhone launched in 2007, most of the business world dismissed it as a consumer toy. After waiting in line to get the first phone, my partner and I were blown away by the UX and the compute capabilities. To us, it represented a rare opportunity to define a new genre of application powered by this transformational platform.

We founded our company in January 2008 (3 months before the announcement of the iOS SDK, and the App Store), hired a handful of young developers from the iPhone jail-break community, and began re-imaging data visualization from a mobile-first perspective.

The Product

Customers included Apple, Nike, L’Oréal, Pfizer, Barclays, Airbnb, Costco, Lilly, HSBC, Novartis, and more across retail, pharma, banking, and tech.

• Large customers deployed up to +20k internal users, with engagement rates of over 90%

• Six consecutive years of +100%+ ARR growth.

• 5M+ app downloads with a 4.9 App Store rating.

• +700 large enterprise deployments, some reaching over 20k active users

• Over 10k active customers across enterprise and SMBs

• Regularly featured by Apple: In the App Store (Best In Business), at WWDC, on Apple.com, and was pre-installed on demo devices in Apple Stores worldwide.

• Multiple awards for design and productivity.

• Acquired by SAP in 2016.

• Team alumni went on to senior roles at Apple, Google, Salesforce, Slack, Amazon, and more.

Looking Back

Roambi began as a bet on a device most of the industry ignored. It grew into a platform that changed how companies and their people engaged with data. The innovations we pioneered, became part of the foundation for how enterprise software adapted to the mobile era and was a poster child for the “consumerization” of business software.

Beyond the success of the product, the journey of building a company from 0-1, scaling it, and navigating all the challenges that we overcame made Roambi the most educational, humbling, rewarding experience of my career. But nothing was more rewarding than the culture we built inside of the company.